attractions outside of disney?

[dana1003]

been going to disney for years and we've never done any of the outside stuff? has anyone done wonderworks, titanic, etc/?? ripleys?? and what is the best mini golf for 5 year olds?

 

[yasuern]

We did Ripleys beleive or not museum and enjoyed it - our then 12y/o DD and 13 y/o Dniece myself and DH.

We've also gone Minature Golfing off property and enjoyed the one on rt192 with a live gator - but I forget the name

On property the mini golf next to Blizard Beach is fun.(Wintersummerland??)

Not sure if you have been but Seaworld is great!


Sue

 

[dana1003]

yeah we just dis seaworld for the first time and it was awesome...think the girls would love the gator golf..im gonna map it...thanks.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I'd recommend Kennedy Space Center. We did the Up Close Tour and they take you around to see the various buildings.
I didn't really want to do it ever and thought dh could take our boys while I relax/shop. My parents ended up coming with us and they wanted to see it so I went along. I was so glad I did!
The whole thing is so amazing and really something all Americans should see. I even got a little teary-eyed during the IMAX movie at a few points: they show various astronauts' 1st comments when walking on the moon (besides the famous 'One small step for man..." also parts of speeches from JFK.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it all.

We also love Universal and have APs. Their onsite hotels are awesome, close enough to walk to the parks and the room key works like an unlimited fast pass. We pretty much walk right on to every ride.

 

[Detailor]

and what is the best mini golf for 5 year olds?

The commercial mini golf courses will all be a bit challenging for 5 year olds. I saw in your signature that you stayed at Marriott's Cypress Harbour last year. If you're staying there again this year, or staying at another of the area resorts that have mini golf (other Marriotts, Orange Lake, Vistana Resort, Cypress Pointe, and others), I bet those 5 year olds would really enjoy mini golf right there at the resort.

Dick Taylor

 

[Blueharts]

We went to Wonderworks, Ripley's, and Gatorland on our last trip. We all enjoyed it! My husband and nephew(12) liked Ripley's the best. My son(9) and I liked Wonderworks the best. And we all liked Gatorland.

 

[inkkognito]

If you do Wonderworks, do the comedy magic dinner show they have there. It's a total riot! My poor husband got picked on unmercifully. Here's a link to my report, including his stint onstage as "Cher": http://bit.ly/BmRyF

I also love Gatorland. Here's my report on that one: http://bit.ly/EzGpW

Really, you could just head down I-Drive or 192 and find a ton of things to do. If you want to do a combo day, come over to Old Town on 192 (they have rides, mini-golf, go-karts, etc.) and then swing over to Celebration. If you like roller coasters, don't miss SeaWorld's new Manta. You ride it while on your belly!

 

[twinmom]

We did the Titanic tour. My twins studied the Titanic in 5th grade. We went the next summer. We all enjoyed it. When you get your ticket you are assigned a name of a passenger. When you are done with the tour you can look at the list of passengers to see if you lived or went down with the ship. Mine wasn't a surprise as I was Molly Brown.

We were very glad we took the tour.

 

[jdm]

Kennedy Space Center.. lunch with an astronaut. Excellent!! I only went because I thought it would buy me an afternoon at Cocoa Beach and shopping at Ron Jons (another must do but we closed the joint!! All the way there I'm thinking.... don't make me go! don't make me go! But, we all LOVED it. We had pulled our girls (yes 9 & 11 year old girls loved it as well) out of school so this was our check in the box educational part of the trip. It was the coolest day ever. Try it, you'll be surprised... & don't miss the gift shop. What fun

Gatorland.... Great half day trip and good for down time from the parks. It's a bit macob and my DH felt uneasy the whole day that one of the kids would fall in in or something but I thought it was great. Just one of those things you wouldn't see every day. We enjoyed it.

Wonderworks Magic Show- Go! It was a riot. Everyone in my family loved this. We were laughing the whole time. Hard to explain, but just a fun kicked back family night. And, the pizza and beer/ wine/ pop really tasted pretty good. We would do this again.

 

[jdm]

Oops, hit the wrong button.... I have more.

Sea World--- This is one of my favorites. Just a beautiful, relaxing park.

Discovery Cove--- If you can afford it, it's really fun. And, gets you a free (well, included) admission to Sea World. I've been twice and haven't swam with the dolphins (kids did) but enjoyed every minute of our days there.

Busch Gardens--- Ok, you'd better like coasters and second hand smoke. Smokers everywhere, even in lines. I use to smoke but it was a bit much for me and it's what I remember most.

Arabian Nights--- We enjoyed the show but the food.... not so much. I think you have to be into horses for this one and for me & my horse crazed girls.... we loved it.

Disney Water Parks--- If you haven't been..... great fun.

We love to just hang out and enjoy our resort also. Some years we do no parks and just make a vacation out of swimming, shopping and relaxing. There is plenty to do besides Disney! Have fun

 

[inkkognito]

So the food at Arabian Nights is really as bad as people say? I'm just curious because I've read that in other reports and we are going there tomorrow. Is it still gross minty ice cream for dessert? Were the chicken tenders edible? We're doing the VIP thing so we can see the horses beforehand.

 

[jdm]

It's been 4 or 5 years since we've been. I don't remember the dessert to be honest with you. I mean, we weren't like GROSSS but I do remember thinking, good thing we didn't come for the food It was a little less than ok but I can't remember the specifics) We ate and survived so it couldn't have been that bad! And, we really did have a great time. I remember the whole horse thing was a story that I didn't really follow--- but the horses were gorgeous and the tricks and riding was very entertaining. My fav part was at the end. They took all the tack off the horses and let them play and run in the arena. It was something. They also answered questions for the kids and let them pet them etc. We liked this show waaaay better than the Dolly Parton one. I think it was Dixie Stampede? We didn't like that. Too cornball for us!

That was the beginning of my daughter's horse obsession. Now, we own one!

 

[inkkognito]

We just got back from Arabian Knights; I'll post a link to my review when I get it done, but we had a blast. The food was just okay, but the show was great! Of course, I am a horse owner so I know just how hard it is to ride a bridleless horse or work one at liberty. Much of the audience seemed unimpressed with the tricks, but we loved it. We did VIP and had a great time going through the stables before the show. Quite a fun experience!

Oh, and they do still let the horses all out to roll and run around at the end.

 

[Iceman10]

Less than an hour West is Dinosaur Land which the kids liked a lot (Life sized dinos!)

Pirates, Arabian Knights, & Medeival Times are all fun as well. Being a Civil War reenacter I absolutley hated Dixie Stampede, but that's me. The pre show was good though I must say.

Ripley's & WonderWorks are fun, but the Orlando Science Museum is MUCH better than both. Agree with the above statement for the magic show. In fact we did my sons Bday there several years ago with our realitives who live down there.

I mentioned this in another thread, but monitor the Kennedy Center's launch schedule. Seeing a launch is really something!

 

[maddiesmom0116]

Sea World is awesome, Busch Gardens in Tampa is ok, Big Cat Rescue in Tampa was wonderful. The one place I don't see listed in the Holyland Experience. I am not extremely religous, I go to church on the holidays and ever so often in between, so I am not trying to convert anyone, but this was a really neat place. My DD loved it and so did I, I would go again.

 

[auntyjenn]

What about Universal Studios Islands of Adventure (btw we love roller coasters).

 

[Iceman10]

I agree, I am not religious at all but Holy Land was pretty good. The model of Jerulselem (sp) was very interesting. Currently, the only time I go to Universal is for Halloween Horror Nights. I am waiting for Harry Potter to open

 

[ADisneyQueen]

Is Holy Land a lot of outdoor stuff? I am trying to find some indoor attractions to go to when it is really hot.

 

[Iceman10]

It's both if I remember correctly. Meaning if you get too hot there are plenty of things indoors as well.

 

[auntyjenn]

Hmm, sounds like we might go to Sea World instead of Bush Gardens, and the Wonderworks Magic show sounds totally up our alley. I've never even heard of it. Thanks for all the ideas.